The medium is the message

When you’re ready to make a major purchase, like a new washing machine for example, where do you start your search? If you’re like me, you start by complaining to your co-workers or your friends – who will be happy to tell you what they have in their basements and why they love it or hate it.

Word of mouth – there’s nothing stronger.

Media mavens are no strangers to the power of recommendations. Ten years ago when a PR agency wanted to launch a new product, they knew getting that product in the hands of a respected senior writer or editor was like printing a one-way ticket to a successful launch.

But those respected journalists lived (and the good ones still live) by an unwritten creed.

If they wrote reviews that had no basis in fact, their editors would be deluged with complaints. And they’d be without jobs. It’s a hard line to toe, doing what they know their readers demanded while making advertisers happy.

Bloggers are the new journalists

Social PR today is a similar story – with a few significant improvements. Getting your product into the hands of people who are in a position to share your message is powerful stuff. But bloggers share differently than journalists and they have different relationships with their readers.

A blogger lives and dies by his or her street cred. One false statement to their bloggy communities and their integrity is gone – and so is their traffic. Their first (and most important) allegiance is to the people who follow their blogs.

Reputation can take years for a blogger to build – and one post to destroy.

Their audiences are different too. A journalist might be able to reach 300,000 readers – if each reader were to read every single story in the magazine. A blogger may only reach 1,000 – but those 1,000 people are loyal, pre-qualified and react to recommendations.

Blog readers take endorsements seriously because they know the bloggers they read often face the same life-issues – and if it solves a problem for a blogger, it might just make their lives better too.

Make no mistakes though. Social PR is still just as risky and time consuming as traditional PR, especially if the product or service is less than stellar. If you’re going to send a journalist (or a blogger) a $1,000 stroller, the story behind what makes it better than the $300 one better be good.

 Bloggers – the good, the bad and the ugly

Just like there are good journalists and good lawyers, there are also more than a few shady ones. Trouble is, it’s not always easy to spot the bad apples.

Do you work with bloggers to help share your message? What do you look for in a blogger before engaging in a relationship? Have you ever been let down by (or have you let down) a blogger?

 I’d love to hear your story! Leave a comment, friend me on Facebook or shout out on Twitter – let’s start talking!